Malaysian couple use wedding day ‘savings’ to help others

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many couples have either postponed or opted for a scaled-down wedding ceremony.

Among them were pharmacist P. Seevaratnam, 32, and his bride T. Thilageswary, 29, an engineer, whose “big day” was only held at their home in Ayer Itam and attended by some 20 family members.

The couple did something noble with the money saved from the wedding expenses.

They bought student M. Shakkthivel a laptop and an orthotic walker for former Penang Island City Council labourer S. Kandiah.

Kandiah suffers from Charcot foot due to diabetes while Shakkthivel is a first-year software engineering degree student.

Seevaratnam’s family had also sponsored Kandiah’s motorised wheelchair two years ago.

“My brother gave me the idea of giving something back to society with the money that we had saved from the wedding.

“We would have spent close to RM80,000 (S$26,000) if we had gone ahead with both the temple wedding and reception,” said Seevaratnam, whose wedding was supposed to be held on May 31.

He said they were nearly done with wedding preparations, including shopping for the trousseau in India, before the movement control order came into force.

“The only thing we had left to do was send out the wedding invitations,” he said.

Thilageswary said, “Our families were worried about the disease, and after much deliberation and discussion, they decided to hold a simple ceremony at home.”

“We even followed the SOP such as checking temperature, preparing hand sanitiser and registering all the guests.

“Due to the restriction in the number of guests, only elder relatives attended the ceremony.

“It was important to seek their blessings,” she said, adding that the two deserving recipients were recommended by Malaysian Hindu Sangam, which carries out social and welfare activities regularly.